Shaytan &

His Tactics

Module 1 Circle 7

Who was Azazil?

Azazil was a creation of Allah swt who was given

free will, and chose to obey Allah swt and worship
Him alone. Because of his extreme virtue and the
intensity of his prayers, The Lord raised him up into
the heavens to live among the angels.

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What happened to Azazil?

Allah swt asked all the Angels and Azazil to bow
down to Adam (as). Azazil refused, and then
became one of the wrongdoers. From this point, he
became known as Iblis, and now more commonly
known as Shaytan.
"Call to mind, when We commanded the angels:
Submit to Adam and they all submitted, but Iblis did
not; he refused and was arrogant, being already
one of the disbelievers." (Surah 2, Verse 35)

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Was Iblis an Angel?

Angels are made of light and do not have freewill, so

can never disobey Allah swt. Iblis was made from
smokeless fire, and therefore, he is from a creation
known as the Jinn.
Allah swt says in the Quran: And [mention] when We said
to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated,
except for Iblis. He was of the jinn and departed from the
command of his Lord... (Surah 18, Verse 50)

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What did Iblis ask of Allah swt,

and what was his promise?
Satan said: Grant me respite till the day when
they shall be raised up. Allah said: You are
given respite. Satan said: Because you have
put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them
[i.e., mankind] on Your straight path. Then I will
come to them from before them and from
behind them and on their right and on their left,
and You will not find most of them grateful [to
You]. (Surah 7, 14-18)
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Does Shaytan fear Allah swt?

Shaytan says to man, Deny the truth! But as soon as

(man) has denied the truth, he says, Behold, I am free of
you, I fear Allah, the Sustainer and Lord of the Worlds.
(59:16)

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Does Shaytan always aim to make

you commit major sins?
Shaytan finds it difficult to provoke the believing servants of
Allah into committing the major sins. Instead he tries to
reach them by other, more subtle means.
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost
all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big
things, so beware of following him in small things.
From Prophet Muhammads (SAWS) last sermon

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Shaytans tactics - Intentions

Shaytan plays with our intentions. Although we do have a

love of the Akhirah in our hearts, it is contaminated with a
longing for the pleasures of this life. This may be through
seeking position and fame for the work that we are doing
which is no doubt commendable and praise-worthy in most
cases.

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Shaytans tactics Neglecting Tauba

Shaytan causes us to neglect the minor sins that we
commit. Every human, apart from the Prophets, commits
errors and sins. For the believers, these sins may be small
but if they do not purify their souls and ask for repentance,
these sins will grow to form a chain, which will lead this
person to become a loser both in this life and the hereafter.
This is because, they will have lost the pleasures of this life,
which the disbelievers enjoy, but will also lose out on some
of the potential rewards of the next life due to the smaller
neglected sins which will be added to their scale as bad
deeds.

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Shaytans tactics - Pride

Shaytan also gets to the believer by making him or her
pride of oneself; ones knowledge, ones good deeds, ones
talents and so on. When this happens Shaytan has truly
mastered the heart of that believer. Now the believer asks a
higher price for him/herself than they are due; expecting
positions of authority, expecting to have the last say in all
matters, thinking ones opinion is the only valid one. Also
this person will not be able to receive criticism and advice in
a way that will lead to correction. Rather, this person will
deny this advice and only take heed of the words of praise
that come from some others. Finally, this person will stand
above his or her other brothers and sisters, looking down
upon them, seeing them as inferior in knowledge and
taqwa.
Module 1 Circle 7

Shaytans tactics - Desires

Allah says in the Quran: Do you not see he

who has taken his desires to be his God And Allah, knowing him to be such, has left
him astray ... (45:23)

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Shaytans tactics The lesser of two

goods
Sometimes good thoughts can also come from
Shaytan, when he would rather you do the lesser
of two goods, and choose the good deed with less
reward in it. For example, although reciting the
Quran and making Dhikr of Allah swt is a great act,
he would rather you do this alone, than a deed
which may change the community and society
around you for the better. A deed such as that may
bring more people closer to Allah swt, and
therefore ruin Shaytans work.
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Shaytans tactics - Despair

The name Iblis is an Arabic word which can mean one
who despairs. When a believer may have committed a
huge sin, Shaytan whispers to the believer that Youve
committed such a huge sin, that there is no way that Allah
swt can forgive you now. There is no point in even trying to
be a good Muslim.
Allah swt is the forgiver of ALL sins. Allah says: Say: O my
Servants who have transgressed against their souls!
Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins:
for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Srah al-Zumar,
Verse 55)

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Shaytans tactics Gradualism

Shaytan does not lead you into committing a big sin straight
away. He begins by whispering smaller sins to you which he
knows you will commit in time. Once youre committing the
smaller sins, he moves you on to slightly bigger sins, and
then the larger sins. He has led away great worshippers of
Allah swt through this tactic.

The story of Barsisa highlights how Shaytan can lead a

pious man astray

Module 1 Circle 7